Page 76 - Corvallis, OR Historic Preservation Plan

Historic Preservation Plan

Livability Code

Chapter 9.02 of the Corvallis Municipal Code aims to ensure and protect
the public health, safety and welfare, and to prevent or reduce urban
blight by establishing minimum property maintenance and livability
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standards for all premises. The Livability Code outlines standards that
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must be upheld by property owners, focusing on exterior condition
issues such as providing lighting for exterior walkways and entrances,
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Early-20th century commercial maintaining safe conditions of windows and doors and removing all
development along Monroe Avenue trash and debris. These standards, among many others outlined in
the Code, create a new tool for the City to address livability concerns
in neighborhoods throughout Corvallis, and replace the previous
Rental Housing Code. The Livability Code addresses historic structures
by saying that the “provisions of this code shall not be mandatory
for an existing structure designated as a local or national historic
resource when such structure is judged by the Director to be safe and
its continued maintenance in historic condition to be in the public
interest.”

Design Review

Design review is a collaborative process used to examine public and
private projects for their aesthetic, architectural, or urban design
quality, historic appropriateness and compatibility with surrounding
context. A well-organized design review process helps protect a
community’s historic character. It is a management tool that applies in
addition to zoning regulations that may provide some context-sensitive
standards.

Design guidelines provide criteria for determining the appropriateness
of proposed work affecting historic structures. They inform a property
owner in advance of how a proposal will be evaluated. Effective
guidelines provide clear examples of design treatments using local
examples. In addition, they define the range of flexibility that may be
available for alterations and additions to properties. They also can help
to identify which features are significant and should be preserved, and
conversely, which features are less critical to the integrity of a historic
resource, thereby indicating where greater flexibility may be afforded.

The existing preservation ordinance defines a design review process
for historic structures, and enables use of design review criteria. The
existing ordinance has some design guidelines imbedded in it, but it is
not comprehensive.

70 City of Corvallis